9/25    Anybody knows why companies disallow you to alter your benefits
        after open enrollment unless you have a status change?  Is it
        because it's too costly for them?  Too much paper work or what?
        \_ Insurance companies force it on them.
           \_ Real answer: They're cheap. As with most things in life
              you can do whatever you want if you pay enough money for
              the privilege. I got the "insurance companies force us
              to" or "government regulations say..." song and dance
              a few times, but learned at a company that switched to
              a more open policy from a more closed one that it can be
              done if they want it to happen. --dim

9/25    Does anyone have recommendations for an indoor garden shop in the
        area?  I am looking for HPS lighting, and possibly a hydroponic
        system.  I went to the place on university ("Berkeley Indoor
        Garden Center" ?), and they seemed overpriced.
        \_ headshop

9/25    What's the syntax in NT command prompt to redirect both stdout and
        stderr to the same file?  (I asked this before and I thought the
        answer was "command 2>&1 > out.txt", but it doesn't seem to work
        anymore.)  Thanks.
        \_ command > out.txt 2>&1

9/25    For DOS programmers, is there a version of Borland C 4.5 (or any other
        version for DOS) run-time library that has a qsort() routine that
        works with huge pointers (__huge *)?  Thanks.
        \_ Watcom does. You're fundamentally not going to get clib routines
           from a compiler which doesn't support flat-mode memory access like
           Watcom does with DOS4GW.

9/25    <DEAD>www.vaderfor2000.org<DEAD>  - vote for vader!

9/25    Anybody else find it funny that the Chinese women all missed the
        swimming events?  They have set a few records at the 96 games, but
        unfortunately nobody believes those records.
        \_ I'm sure there are some.
               \_ doze crazy she-males!
        \_ I believe several of them were barred from the current
           Olympics by China itself.
           \_ Yup, one diving gold medalist was barred from 10 meter diving
              this year because at 22 yrs, she was too old.
              \_ And what would be the motivation for that?
                 \_ The State Central Committee for Olympic Swimming wanted to
                    do their part for the Glorious People's Revolution by
                    making some money on the side through the sale of HAWT YUNG
                    NUDE CHINESE SWIMMER PORN to decadent Western running-dog
                    white male Asiaphiles.  Once their swimmers start getting
                    too old to appeal to that clientele, they're dumped for new
                    kids with that 'virginally innocent' look.
                    \_ RED Chinese women look awful. I can't imagine anyone
                       except perhaps a sodan who would want to see them in
                       a porn flick.
                        trials in the springboard. She's still diving in
                        the springboard
                        events, so no big loss.
                           \_ wonderful contribution to the human
                              gene pool thanks to the communist government.
                              they're coming out heinous b/c they're
                              not getting enough nutrition and/or the
                              wrong supplements (i.e. too much fluoride
                              resulting in some major teeth discoloration
                              fuck-ups in the past).
                 \_ She was barred because she didn't win their Olympic
                    trials in the springboard. She's still diving in the
                    springboard events, so no big loss.
                    [ reformatted ]

9/25    I haven't traveled much in the US. Which is a better airline ? SW ?
        Delta? American?
           \_ Alaska Airlines.
                \_ used to be good.  But remember those maintainance (sic)
                   problems they had with the airplanes?
                   \_ What's the point in living if you can't feel alive?
                        \_  What is life without GLORY??  The GLORY of
                            coming crashing down to earth in a flaming
                            airliner, dying heroically in a ball of fire
                            for no particular reason?
        \_ depends where you want to go.  Each airline has a different hub.
        \_ SW is good and affordable, but if you want to go across the
           coast, you'll have to stop many times.  They only use
           737s, and they have no direct flights from coast to coast.
           \_ aside from SW, United and American are generally solid
              choices.  You may get better deals from other smaller,
              lesser known airlines.
           \_ If you're going for the cheaper flights, everyone will have at
              least one stop.  SW is in the same price range (sometimes
              cheaper, sometimes not) as everyone else, and generally has
              one-stop x-country flights.
        \_ Continental is well regarded by passengers and is also considered
           a good airline for which to work as well (happy employees).  UAL
           has fallen a lot lately in customer satisfaction (and that was
           before the airline/pilot contract negotiations) and their
           employees are not nearly as happy with the airline, especially
           the attendants.  Happy employees make for a somewhat less
           annoying flight. The Continental mileage program is somewhat
           nicer than the UAL one.
           \_ And they'll stick you on the runway without telling you why.
              For six hours.  Like me.
        \_ Alaska Airlines.
           \_ used to be good.  But remember those maintainance (sic)
              problems they had with the airplanes?
              \_ What's the point in living if you can't feel alive?
              \_ What is life without GLORY??  The GLORY of
                 coming crashing down to earth in a flaming
                 airliner, dying heroically in a ball of fire
                 for no particular reason?
                 \_ Watch TWINE and you'll understand.

9/25    Anyone ride a scooter?  Why are scooters from the early
        80's/late 70's so expensive?  What's a good type of scooter
        to buy?  Italian?  Japanese?  2-stroke?  4-stroke
        engine?
        \_ I drove my uncle's vespa while in India. 2 stroke I
           believe. This was made in india. Surprisingly indian
           believe. His was made in india. Surprisingly indian
           scooters are quite popular world wide.
        \_ Vespas from then are pretty popular because they rust easily.
           You might want to try one of the newer models--they're surprisingly
           reliable;  I'm going to get one myself.  <DEAD>www.piaggio.it<DEAD>  You
           will probably want to get a 125cc, since 2-strokes are generally
           notoriously stinky and loud.  However, if you have a really
           nice old Piaggio Vespa (the ones with the round horn fixtures
           in front) in good condition, you won't have problems with
           spare parts since there are tons of enthusiasts for them.  -John
        \_ I personally don't see what the point of a scooter is, since
           the requirement for an M2 liscence (<150cc only) is essentially
           the same as an M1 liscence, at least in CA.  And, if you just want
           a little runabout vehicle, and old motorcycle works just fine,
           doesn't cost much more, and is freeway capable.  -nweaver

9/25    Happy birthday, kane
        \_ same bday as Mark Hamill, Christopher Reeve, Heather Locklear
           Will Smith, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and i.
                       \_ what a mistake this is _/
                          she should be with me
        \_ same bday as i.
           \_ as me, you mean.
              \_ as yermom, of course.
              \_ Nope. It's "same bday as i (have)."
        \_ HATE
        \_ HATE
        \_ HATE
         \_ you're going to hell
        \_ love ! :D
        \_ It's the kane in Citizen's Kane.
           \_ You mean "Citizen Kane." I don't believe Citizen owned a
              Kane in the movie.

9/24    In So. CAl they have teh greatest invention in the history of Mankind...
        _The REcycler_ magazine.  Free classified adds (not for dealers) and you
        pay like $1 to buy it.  I can get up early Thursday morning, get it, and
        have a new(to me) motorcycle by Thursday night.  Why (oh why?) is there
        nothing like that up here?  It is a giant PAIN to shop for a used Bike.
        I know some of you CSUAers ride, Where should i look?
        \_ http://www.recycler.com --dim
            \_  Um, i apreciate the thought, but, you know, i did try that.  The
                problem is that there is a dirth of adds for this area.  I don't
                want to have to drive to LA to get my bike.
        \_ there is a similar paper called "diablo dealer" in contra costa
           county.  pick one up in orinda or lafayette.  they advertise
           their sister papers in it too.. I think there might be one for
           the richmond area too?
        \_Cycle Trader is the only way to go in Northern california.
           For some reason, bay area folks think thier old shit is
           worth more than blue book. Good luck, dont go to a used
           bike dealership also, they will rip you off.
           \_ see blue book is too large of an area.  In the bay area there
              is a much higher market for bikes so the tend to go for a bit
              more.  You figure it out.  (Also people tend to be negotiable
              on prices, you ask for more than you expect to get and all that)

9/25    Max Ray Butler?
        \_ yes? who's asking?